Hypnosis for Weight Loss

Weight Loss Motivation using NLP Techniques

Hypnosis for weight loss is an example of one of the strategies used by NLP practitioners, who often refer to it as trance work. As well as being used for weight loss, hypnosis is used for giving up smoking and other lifestyle changes with great success. This style originated with Milton Erickson who was the founding President of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and was a psychiatrist by profession. Erickson had an international reputation as a sensitive and successful therapist. His techniques and style were studied by many, including Richard Bandler, John Grinder and Ernest Rossi (clinical psychologist), and have been used successfully for years to provide weight loss motivation through the use of the unconscious mind.

Bandler and Grinder (see history of NLP) realised that part of Erickson’s success was due to his work with altered states and he used language to induce and maintain a trance state in order to facilitate the hidden resources of the unconscious mind to bring about positive changes. A trance state is one which the client is in complete control of, it is not passive, i.e. you aren’t under anyones control.

So, how does hypnosis for weight loss really work, and what is it that provides that weight loss motivation? You already have all the resources you need to make positive changes to your life. No matter how unhelpful or irritating a behaviour is now, it developed because it was the best choice available to you at the time, and developed because of the unconscious minds positive intention to protect. It therefore becomes a simple matter to use trance phenomena to access those resources so the unconscious mind develops new alternatives. The thinking process is unconscious, and then we become aware of the results consciously.

This approach is particularly useful with problems of weight loss, cravings, giving up smoking, and other compulsive behaviours. It can also be useful for emotional issues, phobias and traumas. Trance work can also make good things even better, helping you with relaxation and introducing higher levels of creativity.

Being overweight can be a complex issue for you and those around you, but having a healthier lifestyle can become a reality.